The Other World
by VannuroRB
Summary: Yugi always suspected that there was a monster living in his basement, however, as he investigates his so called "monster" he learns that there is much more lurking in his basement.
1. Chapter 1

It's time for a new story!

I forget how I came about this one! But, whatever, who cares no?

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Chapter 1-The monster in the basement

The car was filled with the choking hot air of summer, along with the surge of the flowing breeze, causing an unbalanced rise and fall of temperature within the vehicle. The two parents sat at the front of the car were busy chatting with each other, something about the moving van they were following and if they should talk to their neighbours, the usual round of adult topics that gave little interest in the child.

Yugi sat in the back of the car, scrunched up in the middle seat, with boxes of unbreakable belongings piled onto the seats next to him. He had pulled his legs up at the start of the journey, hugging them to his chest and resting his chin on them, uncaring if he had made dirt marks on the seat covers. His eyes drooped slightly in what seemed to be tiredness, but for the boy, it was out of complete and utter despair.

Yugi had not been so eager about the move unlike his parents had been. He understood why it had to be done, his mother took up a job nearby and it was closer to his father's own office, and the new home they had chosen was much larger than their previous home. It still did not convince the child. He had no friends—or at least friends he would miss—and did not lose anything from the move, it was his simple defence to the change in routine, he hated anything that was not normal or a daily routine. The move had simply thrown him off course, and he decided to rebel against it.

His father soon pulled the car up into the drive of their new house, recently built a couple of years prior, and was yet subjected to damage or age of any sort. The moving van had parked itself on the curb outside the house, and the movers waited for Yugi's father to arrive, and unlock the front door for them. Yugi's mother stepped out of the car, before turning to the back doors, and opened Yugi's door for him.

"Come on Yugi, you'll cook if you stay in the car".

Yugi gave a groan, unclipping the seatbelt from around him, and slid out of the car to stand next to his mother "Don't forget your bear Yugi".

Yugi shuffled on the spot to turn around, leaning in to take hold of his favourite toy, a rather fluffed up teddy bear he had received one Christmas. Once the bear was securely hanging from his arms, his mother shut the door behind him, before guiding her young son into the new house.

When walking through the front door, a stiff and unbearable heat hit Yugi's face, making him cringe and wince at the heat—and the smell of cooked dust. His father was hurrying around into the many rooms, opening as many windows as he could to let in the cool breeze, while the moving men were bringing in the smaller boxes. As Yugi's mother left his side, the young child stood to the side, looking around the new house he was going to spend the rest of his life in.

The room they had walked in was meant to be the sitting room, it being the second largest room on the first floor. Several doors on its edges led to the kitchen and dining room, a bathroom, and a study which his father was going to use. The stairs was built near the study door, and hosted a door in its thick body. Upstairs was several rooms which included Yugi's room, his parents room, a spare bathroom and an extra bedroom. It certainly lived up to the spacious part of the house, but it still had not won Yugi over.

"Ah, this must be the basement" Yugi's father said, opening the door built into the stairs, and giving a curious glance as the door creaked open "Huh, must be an old door or something".

Yugi shuffled closer to his father, noticing he was standing in the way of the moving men, who were attempting to carry in the sofa. Standing by his father's side, Yugi peered into the darkness that went under their house, feeling a tormenting shiver run down his back as he stared at the disappearing steps. His father gave a hum, before reaching in, and flicking the nearest light switch on. Deep in the basement, something gave a small buzz, before light flickered on in the room beneath them.

"Must be like an oven down there" His father mused, before taking a few squeaking steps down "Yugi, would you like to come?"

"Mmm…" Came Yugi's response, and followed his father down, making sure to take one step at a time.

As Yugi slowly descended into the basement, he realised that the stairs he walked on were not the safest he had seen. There were no railings once they passed the bulky wood of the stairs above them, and the steps beneath them gave view of the ground below them, which was the probable cause of their loud groans and moans of pains. It made Yugi take each step cautiously, worried that if he trod on the wrong piece of wood, his leg would fall straight through.

However, he reached the bottom safely, and made a small hop off of it just to be certain. With a sigh of relief, Yugi quickly hurried to his father's side, and gazed around the basement with him.

The basement was, surprisingly, much cooler than the house above them. An old washing machine was left broken in the corner of the basement, with a few pieces of clothes left behind in its stomach, and a rusted socket above it. Several cardboard boxes were left empty in other places, including the space under the stairs, and several broken items laid dead elsewhere.

"Huh, forgot to clean this place I suppose" His father muttered, then hummed as he walked over to the washing machine, and gave it a few light taps with his hand "Wonder if this hunk of junk could still work…"

"Honey, could you come back up for a minute?" Yugi's mother called down to them.

"Sure thing" He made his way back to the stairs, and began climbing them, before turning to Yugi "Come back up soon, okay Yugi?"

"Okay…" Yugi replied, and watched his father disappear.

Once he had left Yugi alone, the small child looked up at the buzzing light bulb above his head. It flickered from strong to weak, while it gave a gentle swing from left to right, hanging on a single weak cable to the ceiling. It was such a simple lighting fixture for a basement, yet it was the item that caught Yugi's interest most. He watched it move back and forth on its own accord, before he stood on tip toe, and tried to reach it. However, being a child of six, his size was far too short to reach it anytime soon.

Yugi then jumped back when he heard a skid, grasping the teddy in his arms tightly, as he stared at the space underneath the stairs. It was darker than the rest of the basement, creating a thick black shadow over the boxes piled underneath it, almost anything could have been hiding between the boxes. His knees quaked as he recalled a story his mother had told him some months ago, about a monster that lived in a basement, and sought after the dark spaces it created. He dreaded to think such a creature lived in his new home, but he had to find out, to warn his parents.

He crept closer to the dark shadows, making sure to keep quiet so not to alert, whatever it was, that he was close. Once standing on the edge of the shadows, Yugi tried to pull a fierce expression as he peered into the shadow, hoping that he could scare off anything that was hiding from him. However, on closer inspection, Yugi could not find anything out of the ordinary. The edges of the boxes cut off most of the back wall, indicating that nothing could easily hide within them, it was like an impenetrable wall of boxes.

Yugi then felt his back tense when he noticed that one of the boxes moved, seemingly by its own accord, gently nudging itself closer to Yugi. The child dropped his bear in fright, and gave a terrified whimper before dashing to the stairs, uncaring if his leg fell through or not. Once pushing his body into the heated house, Yugi dived to his father, and held tight to his trouser leg to hide himself into.

His father looked down at his son in surprise, before passing the clipboard back to the man "Whoa Yugi, what's wrong?"

"There's a monster in the basement!" Yugi wailed, gripping tighter to his father's trousers.

"Is that so?" His father gave a hum, and gently peeled Yugi from his clothing, before moving closer to the door "Where was it Yugi?"

"U-Under the stairs" Yugi answered, sidling closer to the basement door as well.

"Alright, stay here a moment".

Yugi watched his father descend back into the basement, giving the child chills as he imagined the worst outcome to happen, that his father would be eaten by the monster. He wished to call out to his father, but his fear kept his chattering jaw silent of words, and only hoped his father was strong enough to fight off anything.

"Yugi, where was it exactly?" His father called out "Come down here and show me".

Yugi felt a thick lump go down his throat, but found himself slowly descending once more, unable to go against his father's orders. He took each step carefully, peering into the gaps between the steps, making sure no hand or claw was waiting to grab him. He soon reached the bottom, and with a small hop off it, he quickly backed to the wall. As long as he had an eye on everything, and his back was not turned on anything in the basement, he had a chance to escape and survive.

His father was poking his head under the steps, attempting to look through the shadows before he grumbled, turning to a nearby shelf to pick up a dusty torch. He flicked it on and off a couple of times to check it was working, before shining it to the pile of boxes, frowning in concentration as he looked amongst the boxes.

"I-It was right there!" Yugi whimpered, hugging his body "I-In the boxes! I-It was moving them!"

"Hm" His father looked to the boxes again, before giving them a light shove with his shoes, hoping to cause a disturbance.

A threatening squeak came from behind the boxes, and his father shined the torch at the scurrying creature, revealing a small brown rat that was running around frantically. At the sight of the rodent, Yugi's body trembled in fear until he let out a fearful yelp, quickly jumping to the stairs in hope that the rat could not climb up it, watching it panic in fright. Yugi's father gave a sigh, watching the rat dive towards the washing machine, before disappearing behind it altogether "Well, we found your monster it seems" He commented "Don't want a rat infestation. Yugi, go tell your mother about this, alright? I'll take care of this one".

Yugi gave a shaky nod, all too happy to leave the basement, and the rat behind "Yugi, don't forget your bear".

Yugi stopped as his father held it out, allowing the child to take back his toy, before rushing up back to the house. Yugi found his mother in the kitchen, sorting through the pots and pans they had brought and decided where to put them, until Yugi lunged at her and hugged her tightly. She gave a surprised look at her son, before putting the items away, and kneeling down to his level.

"Yugi? What's the matter?"

"I-I-I…" Yugi then burst into a storm of tears, hugging his mother tightly, and sobbing incoherent words into her shoulder.

After Yugi's father came back and explained the situation to the confused mother, Yugi's tears and fears became much clearer, and the two tried to reassure the youngster. Yugi had a fear of rats and mice, a strong fear against them, even for a child of his age. At any hint that there was a rodent near him, Yugi would break down into a trembling fit, and cry hysterically until it was either removed or someone had calmed him down. He could not quite explain his fear, there was something he just did not like about the creatures; he thought it was the way they scurried around everywhere like a hunter, or that their tail resembled a slimy worm by itself, or their black beady eyes that always seemed to pick Yugi out in a crowd.

Whatever the reason was, he could not stand them.

Yugi's father locked the basement door and called the pest control, but they could not come to the house the next day, leaving Yugi to stare at the basement door in fear. He knew how sneaky rats could be, and he dreaded that the rat would slip into his room that night.

Yugi looked up at his mother as she tucked him into his bed, his face mustering all the sad and pleading emotions his body held, hoping that his mother would give in and allow him to sleep with his parents. However, when seeing the child's petty face, she gave a smile and kissed his forehead.

"Don't worry Yugi, this room isn't so bad" She soothed, stroking his hair "Tomorrow, we'll unpack all your toys, and it'll be like your old room. And then you won't be able to tell the difference" She then bent down, picking up his bear that he left aside, and tucked it by his side "And don't worry about the rats, they're locked in the basement, and they won't be able to get you. You're safe".

"Th-There's monsters in there too!" Yugi tried to explain, his fingers holding tightly to the sheets "I-I know it!"

"Yugi, there's no such thing as monsters" She placed another kiss on his forehead, before standing up and walking to the door, turning the lights out in his room "Sleep tight Yugi, you'll be fine in the morning, I promise".

Yugi watched as his mother gave a small wave, before shutting the door, and encasing his bedroom in complete darkness. Yugi felt a shiver go over his body as he looked around his room, trying to imagine it as his old room, but his lack of imagination failed to reassure him. The plain white walls had turned to a musty dark grey due to the darkness, a few black shadows that were his belongings were stacked under the window, which let in the shadows of the trees outside crawl along his ceiling. Yugi gave another whimper, pulling his bear closer, before wriggling underneath his bed covers.

Despite his fear, Yugi fell asleep rather quickly, hugging his toy close to his body underneath his covers. It was a quiet street, and hardly any cars came by to disrupt his rest, it was almost as if they had been planted in the middle of nowhere. It felt too good to be true, but Yugi was going to learn, that peace and quiet only led to more terror.

Yugi's eyes opened weakly at the sound of his door opening, it gave a small short-lived squeak as it opened, and alerting him that someone was at the door. Yugi gave a groan, pushing the covers off his head, so he could see who was at the door. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed that the hallway was empty, and the door had apparently swung itself open.

Yugi felt his body tremble, and held his covers up to cover most of his face, hoping that whatever had entered his room did not notice him. However, at the sound of his boxes being moved, Yugi gave a yelp and quickly bolted out of his room. He ran down the corridor, letting a few tears run down his face at the thought of rats behind him, and charged himself into his parents' room. He could make out the bed where both of them slept in that night, and quickly pulled himself onto the bed, crawling up to the pillows. His parents awoke with a groan, but that did not stop him from pulling back the covers, and hiding himself underneath it as he began to cry.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" The voice of his tired father asked.

Yugi refused to answer, but allowed his mother to pull up the covers to see her crying son, she gently pulled him close and began to calm him down "He's probably not used to it" She tried to explain, attempting to soothe the crying child.

Yugi cried a fair few hours until he fell asleep, allowing his parents to fall asleep along next to him. He knew his parents thought he was over exaggerating, or attempting to change their minds to move back, but he knew the truth about their new house.

There was more than rats in the basement, there was a monster too, a monster that seemed to be interested in Yugi. Probably hungry for young children, knowing Yugi's luck.

*******************************End of chapter 1******************************

I think this might be the first time I've given Yugi a proper phobia…hm…

This shall lead to all sorts of fun.

Review if you like!


	2. Chapter 2

In this chapter we find out what the monster is.

I bet you can't guess!

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Chapter 2-The old occupant

The pest exterminator came the next day, and he and his father opened the basement, and went downstairs to investigate further. Traps and other tools were laid down to catch the rats, and after a few days they only successfully caught one rat, they presumed it was a lone rat living on its own in the basement. The exterminator was not called out again, and the basement was claimed to be vermin free, it did not change Yugi's mind however.

He knew that the monster, whatever it was, still resided in the basement. He knew, he had seen all the hints. Odd noises came from the basement when he passed it, things would go missing or be misplaced. And every night, after the exterminator dealt with the basement, something would walk into his room and look amongst his belongings. He never saw the monster, so could not describe it to his parents when they asked, but he knew that it lived in his basement.

After a few days of settling in, Yugi's father returned to work, leaving Yugi and his mother the only people in the house. It made Yugi nervous at first, but after noticing that things fell silent in the house, he eased into comfort at his new house and slowly began to grow warm towards it.

Yugi sat in his room one afternoon, playing with his toys in peace, while his mother was downstairs doing chores. His box of toys was set up the very next day of moving in, giving him the happiness of comforting friends, and distracted him from the more delicate tasks of moving. Yugi did not mind, for being a young child, having the opportunity to play while his parents did all the work was fine by his standards.

In one hand was his cowboy figure, and in the other was his Indian figure, and he was once again locking them in a make-believe fight. It was the cowboy with his gun, and the Indian with his spear, both defying odds and fighting for their non-believed lands. It would have been more exciting if he had other similar figurines to use in his game, but he only had the two, and had to use his imagination for the lesser important characters in the game.

"Yugi! Time for your juice!" His mother called up.

"Yes!" Yugi dropped his toys, and got up to his feet, to run downstairs to the kitchen.

As routine in his old home, his mother poured him a cup of his favourite juice, and also a snack to tide him over until dinner later on in the day. Yugi managed to stop himself before he ran into the cupboards, and eagerly took down his sweet treat to eat, and then the cup to gulp down the juice rapidly. Once both were consumed, Yugi thanked his mother, before running off upstairs again.

Eager to return to his games, Yugi bounced up the stairs and pushed open the door to his room, only to give a gasp and stand back. His toy box had been pushed over and his collection of teddies, figures, and plastic toys were scattered over the bedroom floor. Yugi stared at them for a few moments, trying to figure out how such a mess could have been committed quietly, before he ran back down the stairs to inform his mother of the monsters reappearance.

Of course, his parents did not believe him once again; even with Yugi showing his toys thrown over the floor, he could not convince them. He was forced to clean up his toys, and to pretend the event did not happen. But Yugi was not going to give in; he was going to fight back against the monster, as soon as he figured out its weakness—and what it looked like. Before his father got home, Yugi snuck into the basement, and took out the torch he had seen his father use before. Copying what his parent did, Yugi flicked it on and off a few times to make sure it worked, before slipping it under his shirt and carrying it up to his room. He hid it near his bed, and continued on with the day without saying a word, using the rest of the time to muster up the courage to face the monster.

His mother tucked him into bed, and wished him well with sleep before placing his teddy next to him, and leaving him to sleep throughout the night. Yugi tried to stay awake, keeping his eyes focused on the door at all times, and trying to remember that the flashlight was stashed away by his bed. But, just as much as he tried to stay awake, his body fought back in subduing him into sleep. And by the time it was midnight, Yugi was already fast asleep, his head tilted to his bear for soft comfort.

However, a few hours later, Yugi's bedroom door squeaked open yet again. Yugi opened his eyes weakly, giving a small groan he looked over to the door, before hearing the footsteps in his room. The monster had arrived. Yugi felt his body crawl with shivers, until he remembered why he had brought the torch up from the basement, and that he had to be brave about it.

Yugi let his hand fall out from his bed covers, groping around until he felt the torch, and pulled it up into his bed again. Flicking it on underneath his covers, Yugi made sure that it worked, before shining it out onto his room. It seemed empty at first, and even with Yugi shakily shining the circle of light around, Yugi could not find anything unusual in his room. Until he shined it towards his toy box.

Sat by his box of toys, was a man. His hands were inside the container, rummaging through Yugi's collecting of childish imaginative friends, quite focused on searching for one in particular. However, when he felt the warmth of the light touch his skin, his eyes turned to Yugi. The red, glowing eyes, was set deeply on Yugi. Like monsters eyes that peered from behind the door or from under the bed, hungrily lapping up every part of meat it would see, was staring straight at Yugi.

The time for courage had gone, and Yugi dropped the torch in fright, giving a scream of fear and running from his room once again. He came to his parents' bedroom, tears streaming down his face, until his mother rose from her bed to soothe his fright. Having to bring him into their bed, so that he could sleep with ease, and be out of his room for another night yet again.

When it was morning, Yugi could not help but overhear his parents' conversation at breakfast, as they sat at the dinner table. They were concerned about Yugi's sleeping arrangements, trying to determine what they could do to ease Yugi's worry, while not wishing to baby him as he was a growing boy. It made Yugi feel guilty for being such a burden to his parents, but he knew that he was right about the monster; he just had to deal with it on his own, without his parents' aid.

A few weeks later, Yugi was accepted into the local elementary school, and began to go to school while his mother started work. The house was left empty for the majority of the day, and the first to come back every day at four, was Yugi. He was very hesitant of staying in the house on his own for a few hours, and had tried asking his parents if he could go anywhere else during the meantime, but it was more convenient of Yugi to just stay at the home and wait like his parents had asked. After a couple of times of returning home from school, Yugi made sure to check every corner of the house, but more specifically his room. But they usually ended up being empty and quiet, perfect for the child to relax in, and wait for his parents return home.

However, one trip back home turned out to be very different.

He walked in through the front door like normal, and listened carefully to see if he could hear footsteps, like usual it was quiet apart from Yugi himself. The child gave a smile, shutting the front door behind him, and slipped out of his shoes. Humming a small tune, Yugi went straight to the kitchen, and clambered up on top of the cabinets to search through the cupboards. He knew that his mother had bought a packet of marshmallows for him, though they were to be eaten when she returned home, there was no harm in simply taking them from the cupboard and up to his room.

Once the bag was in his hand, he jumped off the cabinets, and made his way up the stairs. Yugi looked through the clear plastic bag, seeing the soft colours of pink and white mix together, and form in the small dome of marshmallows. He could almost taste their sticky but sweet flavour, and staring at them as he entered his room only made him hungrier, but he could not move his eyes elsewhere. Looking over his shoulders quickly, Yugi tore open the bag, and took one of the marshmallows to eat. He gave another hum at the craving being satisfied, and was about to dig in for another treat.

But the door creaked open.

Yugi felt a static shiver go down his spine, and turned to his bedroom door, before looking out into the hallway. He tried to recall leaving any door open that might have swung open, but he could not recall any of the doors ever swinging open by themselves, only with the help of an invisible friend. Yugi leaned over the stairs, making out the rim of the basement door open once again. The monster had returned.

Yugi backed a little to his room, before looking down at the crunching bag in his hands, and putting together a small plan. He took out a marshmallow from his bag, and placed it at the top of the stairs, before creeping back to his bedroom. He stood by his door and gently shut it to, allowing only a thin strip of sight to be allowed, directly over the marshmallow he had left on the top of the stairs. Now all he needed to do was wait.

Yugi sat patiently and quietly, keeping a firm gaze on the marshmallow he had left behind, and making sure his bedroom door did not squeak or move at all. At that small moment, the frightened six year old, had become the hunter finally.

After a few moments of waiting, the marshmallow lifted from its spot, making Yugi stared bewildered at the flying treat in front of him. It hung in the air, lightly turning around for a few moments, until the top part was chewed off. The distinctive sound of someone chewing was heard, being much louder due to the empty house, so Yugi was certain that the thing was eating the trap he had laid. Then, the person appeared.

Yugi gave a small gasp as he appeared, never expecting someone to be able to turn invisible, only hearing of such powers in his stories. It was like he had been there forever, but someone took it upon themselves to pour the colours on him, and bring him back to life. Yugi stared at the ragged teenager for a while longer, before pulling the door open further, causing it to squeak accidentally.

The man heard it, turned his head to the door, and when spotting Yugi quickly disappeared once again. Yugi bit his lip, waiting for a few silent moments in case the man had wanted to attack Yugi, before crawling out from behind his door. Moving to the spot he had set the last marshmallow, Yugi dug around in the bag, before replacing the treat. Taking a few steps back, Yugi dug into the bag once more, and placed another marshmallow down. He repeated the process several times, until a small trail of marshmallows led into his room, ending off where he sat in the middle of his room with the bag of treats. He sat patiently, his eyes on the door, waiting for any movement.

More chewing could be heard from the hallway, growing closer at each treat it ate, before gentle nudging the bedroom door open. Yugi felt his back tighten at the sight, but kept his body firmly at the spot, watching his trail of marshmallows get picked up and eaten. Closer and closer the invisible person came, picking up each individual sweet left behind, until he came to the last on which was sat in front of Yugi. The child watched as the marshmallow floated up above his head, before being bitten in half, and consumed by the invisible being.

Yugi then watched as it floated back down, though hung somewhat in front of his face, until the hand holding it was coloured back in and the man was sat in front of him. The two stared in silence at each other, the only noise breaking it was the man's chewing of the treat, but even that came to an end when he swallowed it down.

"Will…you hurt me…?" Yugi asked, his voice was quiet, barely a whisper.

The man stared at Yugi a little more, before looking down to his hands "Not unless you give me another one of those".

He looked down to the bag of sweets in his hands, before holding them out to the man, offering him to take what he wanted. He dug his hand around, collecting a small handful of the marshmallows, before biting into them once more. Yugi watched the man continue to eat without hesitation, before taking out a marshmallow for himself, and popping it inside his mouth to chew.

Once swallowed down, Yugi spoke up "I'm Yugi…"

At the introduction, the man also swallowed hard, clearing his voice "I'm Yami".

"Yami…" Yugi repeated slowly, tipping his head to the side "Do…you live in the basement…?"

"No…well…" Yami stalled, playfully squeezing the marshmallow between his finger and thumb "Only temporarily. I hope you don't mind".

Yugi shook his head "But…what does temporarily mean…?"

Yami raised his brow, casually resting his arms on his knees, so he leaned closer to Yugi "How old are you Yugi?"

"Six and a half" Yugi replied, a bright smile "My birthday's on June the fourth!"

Yami then frowned in thought "Then you're not really a half right? By your calendars, it's July, the month after June".

Yugi then pulled a stubborn pout "But everyone says they're a half! I wanna be a half! Can I be a quarter?"

"I don't think you're even a quarter…"

"It's not fair! I wanna be a half!"

"Fine, you can be a half" Yami sighed, eating the marshmallow he had been teasing "You're so loud for a child".

Yugi hugged his knees, giving a smile, and rocked himself lightly back and forth on the tips of his toes "How old are you Yami?"

"Sixteen".

"Eh? You're a big kid!" Yugi then gave a hum, looking down innocently "Mama says I shouldn't play with big kids…"

"Is that so?" Yami ate another sweet, before holding his hand out, and gesturing Yugi to hand something to him "Give me your stuff then, I'll play by myself".

"Stuff…?" Yugi repeated, then looking to the toy box that had sat next to them "Do…you want my toys…?"

"Is that what they are? Sure, just let me have them".

Yugi gave a hum, but sat on his knees so he could open the lid to the box, then rummaging around he pulled out various favourites of his. Yami sat patiently, helping himself to his small handful of sweets, while Yugi cluttered the floor between them with his variety of toys. Once he had got out the best of his collection, Yugi sat back down to face Yami, then picked up his bear.

"This…is Mr. Kuman" Yugi introduced, holding the bear in front of his face, so that Yami could see every part of him "He's very special to me. He sleeps with me and makes all the bad things go away".

Yami gave a loud chew as he continued eating, looking up and down the stocky and fluffy toy, before poking its bowtie sewn to its neck "Why's he got this?"

Yugi gave a perplexed look, before looking at the bowtie also "It gives him special powers!"

"Does it? Like what?"

"Um…it makes him fly, and…stuff…"

"I want to see that".

"You can't" Yugi held his head high, hugging his toy close to his body "Mr. Kuman only shows his special powers to special people, and that's me!"

"Oh, right".

Yugi then picked up some more toys, holding up the cowboy and Indian figurines he had "And this…these two are always fighting, so when you play with them, they have to be fighting".

"Why?"

"Why…because…it's in the movies. The cowboys always fight the Indians, so they have to fight".

Yami took hold of the cowboy, inspecting the finer details of the figurine "What's a movie?"

"Eh? A movie is…is like…a story book, but they move and talk!"

Yami looked up at Yugi "What's a story book?"

"Eh?!" Yugi then pointed to his shelves, making Yami look up at the numerous books Yugi had gathered, normally read before he fell asleep "They're stories! Doesn't your mama read them to you?"

Yami shook his head, turning back to the cowboy he had in his hands, giving a light frown in thought "I don't have things like this. I don't have books…or toys…or even a mother actually…"

"Eh…?" Yugi then leant closer "Then…where are you from Yami?"

Yami lifted his head up at the child "I'm from another world".

"Eh?! Really?!" Yugi grinned, holding Yami's hand "Tell me! Tell me! No! Show me! Please?!"

Yami gave a frown, though this time it was definitely out of annoyance, and tugged his hand out from Yugi's grip "What do you think it's going to be like? Smiles and roses?! Well it's not! If it was, why'd you think I'd come to this stupid place in the first place?!"

At Yami's raised tone, Yugi backed away from the male in fright, and locked his eyes with Yami's fierce glare. The two stared at each other in silence, until Yugi's lips began to quiver, and tears threatened to leave his eyes. At the sight of the crying child, Yami gave a groan, and turned his head to the side stubbornly.

"Even if I wanted to show you…you're not old enough" Yami added.

Yugi ceased crying, and turned inquisitive instead "H-How old do I have to be then?"

"I don't know…my age I suppose".

"Oh…but that's so long away! Can't I go now?"

"No" Yugi gave a pout, but gave up regardless "Besides, you have all your toys here. Don't see why you'd want to go anywhere else".

Yugi gave a hum, lightly fiddling with his teddy bears arms, before looking back up at Yami "Hey Yami…can you stay tonight?" Yugi asked "I've never had a sleepover before…"

Yami gave a sigh, teasing another sweet before nodding "Sure" He popped the marshmallow into his mouth, chewing loudly on it "But I can't stay every night, not too good on my health".

"That's okay!" Yugi gave a cheerful smile, before continuing to show Yami all of his toys, explaining the role each one had in his imaginative games.

The two ended up talking for hours, and playing together while they waited for Yugi's parents to return home, to which Yami slinked away from view when Yugi's mother walked through the front door. Knowing Yami was invisible somewhere in his room, Yugi hurried downstairs to greet his mother, and to tell her about the monster he had mistaken. He knew she was not listening, for she had a distant sounding voice and often asked Yugi to repeat a few times, but whether she believed he was making it up or not, Yugi knew that Yami was real enough for him.

Once it got late into the night, Yugi was tucked into bed by his mother, and giving the routine read of a story before he was left to sleep. After his mother wished him a good night, and turned the lights out and shut the door, Yugi listened to the parents until the house fell silent. Yugi sat up in bed, still holding his bear close to his body, before picking up the flashlight to turn on.

"Yami?" Yugi called out, shining the torch around his room.

"Hey" Yugi shined the torch at Yami, seeing the male try to block the light from reaching his eyes "Watch where you point that thing!"

"S-Sorry…" Yugi shined the torch away from Yami, making sure he stayed on the outer ring of light, so he could still see Yami "Do you sleep Yami?"

"Of course I do. What doesn't sleep?"

"Well, would you like to sleep with me?" Yugi scooted up in his bed, pulled back the covers, and patted the space he had created "It's fun to sleep next to people".

Yami only gave a hum, standing up from his sitting spot, and walked over to Yugi's bed. He quickly stepped out of his boots, and pulled off his ripped shirt so he would be more comfortable, before lying down next to Yugi. The child gave a giggle when he felt Yami's warmth, shifting closer so he rested his body next to Yami's, and closed his eyes in peace. Yami watched Yugi with a confused frown, before feeling his arm twitch at the fur touching his skin, and noticing the bear squished between his body and Yugi's loving grip.

"The bear is seriously going to sleep with us?" Yami queried, attempting to flatten the fur from his skin, with little success.

"Ahuh…Mr. Kuman fights away the bad things…" Yugi gave a yawn, lightly nuzzling his face into Yami's shoulder "So…he stays…because…bad things come when…you're asleep…so…he stays…because…"

Yami laid patiently, then frowning "Because what? Yugi?" Yami turned his head to see the child, frowning as he watched Yugi sleep peacefully, half of Yugi's forehead resting against Yami's shoulder in an uncomfortable position.

"Kids" Yami muttered, before resting his head back, and closing his eyes to sleep regardless.

********************************End of chapter 2*****************************

Of course it was Yami! How could you not guess?

But, hm, another world eh? I wonder where that could be –coughmirrorworldcough-

Review and stay tuned for the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Y-You see what I did there? Eh?

It's called a transition. I suck at them!

* * *

Chapter 3-Portal built in the wall

"Yugi! Time to get up! You don't want to be late for school!"

Yugi gave a groan, tugging his covers closer to his body, and attempted to fall asleep once again. He knew it was not wise to push the boundaries of his parents, or run late for school as a consequence, but the thought of leaving his warm bed was something that kept him glued to his covers.

"You're getting bad at waking up again" A familiar voice taunted.

Another groan left Yugi, as he finally pulled his covers back, far enough to look to the end of his bed. Yami sat at the foot of his bed, with his usual mature and serious posture, though with an additional smirk to the teen. It seemed that, for Yami, mornings were his most enjoyable time of the day. Most likely due to the rush the mornings brought, and liked watching Yugi rush around in panic, knowing he had nothing to worry about.

"Easy for you" Yugi muttered back, but sat up regardless, rubbing his eyes lightly "You don't have school to go to".

"Nor would I want to, with the stress you deal with" Yami retorted.

"No…don't think anyone would if they had the choice" Yugi finally pushed himself out of bed, stretching his arms in the air when he stood up, and began to take out his school clothes from his wardrobe "Will you be here when I get back? Or is this another disappearing day?"

"No, I'll be here" Yami answered.

"Playing with my toys no doubt" Yugi glanced over to his old toy box, having been forced to keep it due to Yami's interest in it, and was often believed to be childish for keeping it "That's all you do all day isn't it? Just play with my stuff".

Yami gave a faint chuckle, looking down when Yugi took off his shirt "Sure…if that's what you want to believe…"

Once Yugi was dressed, he collected the various school items, and shoved them into his bag. After he made another quick check around his room, Yugi turned to his bedroom door, giving one last glance to Yami.

"See you later Yami".

"Good luck in school Yugi" Yami wished, and watched Yugi shut the door behind him, leaving Yami free to do as he pleased with the bedroom.

High school life was as normal as could be for Yugi; he received average grades, and studied as hard as he could, and was an overall hard-working student. Though his studying skills were desired by many other students, his social skills lacked greatly, and left him friendless at school. He did not mind the absence of friends, since he did not make effort to earn friends either, he had Yami after all. Yami had been his friend since childhood, and would continue to be his friend throughout his life, so Yugi believed.

With another school day dealt with with ease, Yugi returned home and set to work on completing his homework quickly, often getting distracted with Yami and his childish play of the toys. He completed the majority of his homework when his parents returned home, so decided to leave Yami to play on his own, and helped his mother out with cooking the dinner.

Once the family of three was sat at the table, they enjoyed their meal in silence, like most nights. However, Yugi could tell that something was different, an unusual uneasy air hung between his parents that made him cautious. He had not heard them arguing recently, and he was sure he had done nothing wrong, so the cause of the tense atmosphere remained a mystery for Yugi.

"Yugi" His mother finally spoke up, gaining his attention quickly "There's…something we have to tell you".

Yugi gave a quick glance to his father, seeing his quiet but serious expression, before turning back to his mother "Has someone died?"

"No Yugi, nothing like that".

Yugi then raised his brow "You're not…pregnant are you mum?"

"Nothing like that either".

"Then…what? Is it something bad?"

"No…well…I suppose it depends…" His mother gave a sigh, placing down the cutlery, and turning to face Yugi "Yugi, we might have to move soon".

At the news, Yugi's mouth dropped open, glancing to his father quickly expecting to see a comical smirk. But with his parents' serious and expecting expressions, he knew it was no joke.

"Y-You're kidding?!"

"Don't worry Yugi, it won't be too far" His mother continued to soothe, gently touching his hand "Just a bit more into town you see, so you don't have to worry about changing schools and such. We've found this very cute house, old with a bit of history, you'll love it Yugi I'm sure".

"No!" Yugi protested, taking his hand out of her grasp "W-We can't move!"

"Yugi, you're taking this too hard" His father attempted to reason "You're not moving too far, just to another street. You'll be back in routine in no time".

"B-But…I-I like it here. I-I've got used to e-everything, a-and…I-I don't want to move!"

"Yugi, your mother said 'might'" His father added, crossing his arms over his chest "Depending how my job situation goes, we might have to move. If we don't, we'll stay here, but you'll have to accept that if we move you have to move as well. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is".

Yugi gave a small nod, showing he understood, but still resented the idea. Keeping silent for the rest of the evening, Yugi finished his dinner quickly, and returned to his room for solitude. The thought of having to move, and leave his only friend behind in an empty house hurt him, tore him to pieces. He even toyed with the idea of not telling Yami about the move, thinking Yami would be more upset than he was, but the idea was cruel and decided to tell him everything when they were in bed.

Yami gave a sigh when Yugi had finished explaining the situation, resting his head in his hand, as he forced himself to look to the window "So…you'll be moving?"

"Maybe…" Yugi mumbled, tugging the covers closer to his chin "But…it sounds like we might do…"

"Right…"

The two laid in silence, keeping their backs turned to each other, making it look as if they had just argued with another. Though, it seemed more reasonable that they simply did not want to show their feelings. Yugi stared up at the dark wall he was facing, before lightly glancing over his shoulder, seeing the outline of Yami's body.

"You could…come with me though…right?" Yugi queried "You could just…turn invisible or something, and sit in the back with me. I'll tell mum not to put anything in the back with me, so it'll be fine".

"No…I can't" Yami answered "I'm bound to this house…I can't leave it or…bad things will happen. I'm sorry Yugi".

Yugi gave a sad nod, resting his head back on his pillow, and stared at the blacked wall "I wanted to live here…all my life" Yugi whispered, closing his eyes gently "So I can be with you. Keep you company, treat you like a real person, make sure you wouldn't have to hide ever again. And now…I don't want to leave you…you're my best friend…"

Yugi gave a small hiccup as tears rolled over his face, before burying his face into his pillow, and quietly sobbing into the soft fabric. Yami laid perfectly still on his side, listening to Yugi's muffled cries, knowing there was nothing he could do to comfort the teen. All he could do was shut his eyes, and fall to sleep, hoping Yugi followed his decision as well. Yugi managed to cry himself to sleep a few hours later.

Yugi did not bring up the topic again, in fear that he would upset himself, or upset Yami. Though, trying to continue his everyday life without a care proved difficult, and was rather glad he had to go to school for most of the day. The thought that he had to leave Yami behind, and be alone again kept crawling back, bringing up his sorrow yet again.

Yugi returned home from school, shutting the door behind him, and taking off his shoes. He looked around the eerily quiet house, almost expecting something to jump out at him as he walked in.

"I'm back" Yugi called out.

At the sound of Yugi's voice, the basement door squeaked open, and Yugi turned to see Yami walk out from it.

"Welcome back" Yami greeted.

"Thanks…what were you doing in the basement?" Yugi queried.

Yami gave a brief look down the basement, before gesturing to Yugi to follow him "Come with me".

Yugi gave a questionable stare, but followed his friend nonetheless, shutting the basement door behind him.

Over the years, the basement had collected a more trash from Yugi's family, making it near impossible to move around in the small room. It mostly hoarded broken machinery that they could not get rid of, and old family mementos that they could never part with, turning the basement into a furniture graveyard. Only a small patch of open space was left to walk around in, which circled around the foot of the stairs.

As Yugi reached the last squeaky step, he jumped off and looked around the basement, expecting something to be misplaced or different about the room.

"So…what were you doing down here?" Yugi asked again.

Yami kept quiet for a short while, before sighing "Yugi…you know…I'm not from your world right?"

Yugi turned back to Yami, and gave a nod "Uhuh".

"So do you remember…when you were a kid, you asked to see my world?" Yugi gave an unsure shake of his head "I wouldn't let you because…you needed to be older. Well, that's what I said anyway. I thought…seeing as you're old enough now, and that you might be moving…I thought you might like to see where I come from".

Yugi smiled brightly at the offer, and nodded eccentrically "Yes! I would love to! Are we going now?!"

Yami gave a nod, and managed a small, but weak smile "It's funny…I was hoping you would forget, and never ask again".

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I don't really want to show you" Yami inhaled deeply, before turning to Yugi with a frown "Before we go, I want you to promise me you'll do one thing, alright?" Yugi gave a nod "Do everything I say. No matter what the situation, or the consequence, or anything. You have to do everything I say, no arguing about it, got that?"

"Sure…" Yugi gave a curious glance around, turning to Yami with an eager grin "So…? When are we going to leave? And how? I'm really curious".

Yami gave a playful smile at Yugi's impatience, and turned his head to the nearby wall, making Yugi turn to it "The same way as I usually do…through the wall".

"The wall?" Yugi stepped closer, inspecting the dirty and cracked brick wall, lightly brushing his hand over it "But Yami…it's just a wall, nothing can get through it".

"But it's the way I've been coming for the past ten years".

Yugi gave a hum, and lightly tapped the wall, hissing when the grit scraped against his knuckles. No matter how much he searched over the wall, Yugi came out empty handed, and even more confused about what Yami had meant. Giving up easily, Yugi turned to Yami, expecting an answer from him.

"It'll be here" Yami reassured, taking a step back "You might not want to be so close to it".

Yugi frowned at his friend, before feeling his back shiver at the sound of rumbling, and turned on the spot to stare at the wall. The groaning and growling of the sound grew closer, as if it were running towards the other side of the wall, ready to collide with the brick wall. Yugi ended backing away when he felt a rumble vibrate through the floor, and ended up by Yami's side, watching in both fear and awe of what was about to happen.

The wall began to shiver and bend, straining to keep itself strong and standing, and refusing stubbornly to give in to the strength behind it. It became too much however, as the odd brick began to crumble away, revealing a strange light hiding behind it. Yugi cringed and clung to Yami as more of the wall broke away, before creating a large hole which led to a swirling vortex, disappearing to an unseen point in the distance.

"Yami, wh-what is that?!" Yugi asked, having to raise his voice to be heard.

"Our ride" Yami explained, holding Yugi's shoulders "We're going to jump in".

"What?! No way! I-It could be dangerous! A-Anything could happen! I-I'm not jumping in!"

"Suit yourself".

Yami gave Yugi a hard push, making Yugi squeak and stumble towards the vortex, falling into the swirling mass.

It took little more than a minute for Yugi to come out the other side, landing hard on his back, and feeling a painful bruise swell up somewhere on his spine. He laid perfectly still for a few moments, before tilting his head to the side, watching Yami land by his side on his feet. After checking the surroundings, Yami stood up, and turned to Yugi with a raised brow.

"You might want to learn how to land on your feet" Yami commented, before helping Yugi up.

The young teen gave a hiss of pain, brushing his clothes to get rid of the dirt, before rubbing his back which pulsed numbingly "How do you feel?"

"I…feel spacey" Yugi answered, staring up at his friend "Like…someone took everything inside of me, and put them in a washing machine".

"Poetic" Yami remarked sarcastically.

Yugi gave a light smile at the comment, before finally noticing the surroundings, and staring in awe at everything around them.

The two of them stood on top of a hill, a tall forest of purple trees swarming around the bottom, and a clear sky hanging above them. An eerie silence was all that greeted them, with only the small whistle of a gentle breeze passing their ear, like the world was empty for them to play in. Yugi gave an impressed smile, turning behind him to see the moving portal still behind them, breaking the realistic horizon behind them.

"So…this is your world" Yugi commented, linking his hands together behind his back "Where are we going first?"

"I don't know" Yami mumbled, turning to walk down the hill, while keeping his eyes firmly on the trees of the forest "Stay close, alright?"

"Okay!" Yugi hurried along to Yami's side, looking up at the trees with interest, and watching the small drizzle of falling leaves. Impressed by the many shades of purple, fluttering down like lifeless wings, Yugi knew that he was in for an adventure. He continued to follow Yami once they reached the edge of the forest, only stopping to wait when Yami moved closer to a tree, and began to search around the roots of the tree.

Yugi tilted his head when Yami pulled a small bag from the root, rummaging around inside it, before pulling out a crudely made knife. The rock it had been shaped from had a jagged edge to it, giving it the ability to do more damage than it normally would, and was strung together to a stick with a badly woven string.

"Yami…what's that for?" Yugi asked, fearing for the use of the weapon.

Yami gave a small glance to Yugi, hooking the knife to his belt "Hopefully…nothing" Yami answered, gesturing Yugi to follow him "Come on, let's keep moving".

Yugi caught up to Yami's side, his eyes falling to the weapon hanging tightly to his side, biting his lip back as he watched it lightly scrap against Yami's leg. He did not want to question Yami's reasoning—after all, Yami knew his home better than anyone else—but the thought that they would need a weapon frightened him, as he pictured many things that would want to attack them.

Trying to distract his shaken mind, Yugi turned to the forest again, looking up at the trees again "Yami…why are your trees purple?" Yugi queried.

"I don't know" Yami answered.

"You don't know? But this is your home right? You must know" Yami did not answer again, so Yugi gave up on the questions of the trees, and looked around once again "I can't hear any birds".

"There are no birds here".

"Huh? No birds? That's gotta be lonely. Well, what other kind of animals live here?"

"No animals live here".

Yugi stopped walking, crossing his arms over, and raising a brow "Now I can't believe that. You need animals to have a living system. What about fertilisation? What about food? There has to be some kind of animal-"

"Yugi! Shut up!" Yami hissed quietly.

At the rude interruption, Yugi was about to snap back at his friend, until he realised what had startled Yami.

A small thud echoed from within the forest, forcing the leaves on the trees to shiver, as it started to steadily grow closer. Yugi looked around the forest, expecting to see some sort of giant machinery, but there was nothing breaking apart the forest scenery. The booming noise continued to grow closer, making the leaves tremble on the branches, and even shudder the ground beneath them. It felt almost like an earthquake, but Yugi knew that something else was causing the noise.

Yami hurried back to Yugi, grabbing his arm tightly "Come on! This way!"

Yami pulled Yugi into the forest, causing the teen to accidentally stumble over some of the roots, and struggle to keep up with his speed. After running a few feet into the forest, Yami tugged Yugi round the side of the tree, forcing him to sit underneath some of the overgrown roots. Yami sat down next to Yugi, but kept looking behind them, pulling out his knife at the ready. At the sight of the knife, Yugi felt his body press firmly against the tree, knowing that whatever was coming closer was not their friend.

"Yugi, just stay quiet" Yami whispered, glancing back at Yugi "And stay there, no matter what, got that?"

Yugi gave a nod, and watched Yami as he continued to watch out for the danger. Minutes passed by and the sound grew louder, turning more into approaching footsteps, and even the heavy breathing of the suspect was heard. Yugi felt his own breathe drop to the same pace as the others, becoming heavy and strangely dry, syncing to whoever was approaching them. The tension soon got great, and ate Yugi up inside as he desired to know what it was they were hiding from, so gently looked round his side of the tree to see.

A few feet away from them stood a monster, as tall as the trees grew, and was lightly sniffing the ground where Yugi and Yami had stood. Long, greasy looking black hairs grew from the top of its head, reaching down past its face and covering over its eyes—presuming the monster had eyes at all. Its snout was shrivelled and had many scars from previous fights, but was home to the many sharp teeth growing inside its jaw, ready to tear anything and everything into pieces. Its body was covered by a large sheet of scales, forming a formidable armour plating, and judging by the faint scratches in it, it was almost impossible to break through. And with its muscle built tail, and the sharp claws hanging off its feet, its weaponry it was not a beast to meddle with.

Yugi gave a gasp at the threatening sight, catching the beasts' attention, even more when Yami had grabbed Yugi making him yelp in surprise. Yami tugged Yugi to his body, wrapping his tightly around his neck, and clamped his hand tightly over Yugi's mouth.

"I told you to keep quiet!" Yami hissed under his breath, before his eyes darted around them.

A deep groan came from the beast, as its thundering footsteps grew closer, shaking the trees around them to signal its arrival. Yugi could feel his heartbeat pace inside his chest, sending a burst of adrenaline and fear through his body, making his own body quake. Another groan came from the beast, and Yugi turned his head to the side, cringing more into Yami's body.

The snout of the monster appeared from around the tree, heavily snorting up the air near the teens, and instilling fear into Yugi. Its mouth had slowly opened, letting the drool congealing inside its jaw drip to the ground, and to show off its impressively fearful line of teeth. There was no doubt it was going to eat them after having smelt them out, and in one swift movement, it would take Yugi seeing as he was the one nearest to him.

Yami made a quick movement, picking up a nearby stone, and tossing it away from the teens. The stone gave a small tap when it hit the trunk of a tree, before falling to the ground below it, trailing off away from where they sat. The monster fell quiet and still at the slight noise, then turning to move away, and followed the trail of sound. It gave a disgruntled noise when it could not find Yugi and Yami, but stomped away, leaving that part of the woods alone once again.

The two sat still and silent for a few minutes, making sure the monster had truly left them alone, so they had no risk of being attacked. Yami gently moved his arm away, letting go of Yugi's mouth, and sitting back against the tree with a sigh.

"That was close" He mumbled.

Yugi gave a loud gasp, making Yami turn to his friend, and watch him cry uncontrollably where he sat. Yami stayed silent while Yugi sobbed and wailed, rubbing his quickly turning red eyes, letting out his fear all at once.

"You okay?" Yami finally asked.

"I was so scared!" Yugi wailed "I thought it was going to eat me!"

"It probably would have" Yugi gave a louder wail at the fact, making Yami wince at Yugi's noise "Yugi, be quiet, it might come back".

"I-I'm sorry! I-I can't h-help it! I-I could have died!"

Yami gave a heavy sigh, but let Yugi cry out all his emotions, if it would promise a quieter talk between the two. Yugi cried for a fair few minutes, shedding the most tears he felt his body could have coped with, but his crying soon turned to stinging eyes and heavy sniffles. Once knowing that he would be able to talk again in a quiet tone, Yugi hugged his knees tightly, and decided to find out what was going on.

"What is this place…?" Yugi asked quietly.

"This…is my home" Yami answered, hooking his knife back to his belt "Now you see why I didn't want to bring you here before…or even now…"

"That…thing…what was it?"

"I don't know what its name is…all I know is that you can't kill them. I've watched countless lives attempt to stand their ground, or defend their little pieces of land they claim as home. They stood little chance against those things, and I watched them all get killed, and eaten. All I know is that those things are dangerous, and will kill anyone if they could. They're blind, but their sense of smell and sound is almost perfect, incredibly difficult to hide or run from them—in fact we're lucky that one was fooled".

"Other…people…?" Yugi queried.

Yami gave a nod "A few people live here…and, at times, I wonder if other people or the monsters".

"Why…?"

Yami paused for a while, debating on how to answer Yugi's question "You might've figured this out, but…there's no good food supply here. There's no animals to hunt, no crops to grow" Yami glanced up at the tops of the trees "And these leaves don't look very healthy to eat, do they? So…the only way to sustain oneself here…is to hunt other people to eat them…"

Yugi felt a thick lump build up in his throat, and had to force it down with a swallow "Have…you…ever…?"

Yami glanced away briefly "Once…" Yami turned back when Yugi gave a whimper like noise, and curled tighter into his body "But…he had already been killed before…and I was starving. I had to Yugi. Now I come to your home, so I can eat your food, and not feel like a monster myself".

Yugi gave a small nod, showing he understood what Yami said, but was still shocked and numb over the whole situation "You…really meant it…when you said you had nothing…"

"Yes. I have nothing here. You may find me childish, or odd for wanting to play with your toys, or to fondle with your things more than normal. But…I never had your things here, and I never will. Here, I will be known as a killer, but in your world, I'll be known as an actual person. You don't know how lucky you are Yugi…"

Yugi gave a hum, pressing his face further into his knees "I-I want to go home…"

"I'm sorry…the portals usually come every few hours" Yami explained, resting back against the tree root "We'll have to wait".

Yugi gave a small breathless wail, bursting into more tears, and hiding his head under his arms to muffle the sound. Yami gave another sigh as Yugi sobbed, looking around the area to make sure they were alone, before pulling him closer to hold Yugi close to his body. It had been the first time Yami had really comforted Yugi when he was distressed, even if it was a simple hold to his body; it was more than Yugi was used to from his friend. It soothed and worried him; soothed to know his friend was there, and was ready to look after him, and worried him as he knew Yami was simply making sure they would not catch attention. The wait for the portal to show again, was going to be long and tortuous for the teen.

********************************End of chapter 3*****************************

I don't know what I just created, but damn I'm on some good drugs.

It's called lack of sleep. Try it, it's healthy.

Review and stay tuned for the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

One down, one more to go!

Heh!

* * *

Chapter 4-Stay safe

The hours the two had to wait were long, slow, and extremely painful. Once Yugi had stopped crying, and composed himself to not make another noise, the eerie silence of the woods became painful to Yugi's ears. Since there was no other life in the woods, and the monster had moved on, nothing made noise within the woods. Even Yami seemed strangely silent, which did little to ease Yugi's nerves. To ease the silence, Yugi found himself making small movements to make his clothes rustle, and sigh continuously. As long as he made sound, his ears did not ring, and he found himself comfortable.

After a while, Yami turned to look past the tree, and patted Yugi's shoulders "It's time. Let's go".

Yugi gave a nod, and after giving Yami a chance to check the area, the pair began moving again. Returning to the path Yami had previous led Yugi down, they retraced their steps back to the hill, silence returning between them. Yugi kept his head low, wondering if he should express his words of sympathy and worry to his best friend, but he could not even bring himself to utter a word.

After a few minutes' walk, the two stopped, hearing a groan from the earth. Several noises of pain came from the ground, the trees began to quiver and shake, as a tremor went through the land. Used to the familiarity of an earthquake, Yugi kept still until it passed away, looking around to see if there was any damage.

"That was weird…" Yugi whispered.

"That's been happening a lot recently" Yami commented, looking to the forest, watching the trees fall silent once more "Strange…"

Yugi gave a small tilt of his head "Do you not have earthquakes often?"

"We never had them" Yami explained, looking back to Yugi, before continuing down the path "They just started".

"Oh…" Yugi gave a curious glance around, assuring himself it was not another monster, before following Yami once more.

After trekking up the hill, the two waited a few more minutes, before the portal showed up once again. Distorting the view, the portal appeared, securing a passage back to Yugi's home. Knowing it was only a few moments to home, Yugi managed a smile, and tugged on Yami's clothes to get his attention.

"When we get back…let's have something to eat, okay?" Yugi suggested, thinking it to be the only sensible suggestion to make.

Yami said nothing, looking to the portal, and pulling Yugi closer to it "I'm not going back. You eat by yourself".

"Wh-What? No!" Yugi forced himself out of Yami's hold, and turning to face his friend "I'm not leaving you here! Not with that thing still here!"

"I have no choice" Yami reasoned, before placing his hands on Yugi's shoulder, much like his father would do "Remember last night, I said bad things will happen if I leave your house?" Yugi gave a small nod "You may not believe this, but I am much older than you are, far much older. I retain this age because, in my world, I don't age. I stay sixteen, for as long as I live here. However, in your world, I slowly begin to catch up to my age. I'm sure the consequences of aging too fast, would result in me dying. That's why I have to stay, I've stayed in your world too long, and I have to keep my age".

"But…th-that monster…i-it could eat you…"

Yami shrugged his shoulders "I've learnt to live. Besides, would you want to watch me turn crinkly like an old prune? It's better this way".

"But…"

"You should go" Yami looked up at the portal, seeing it starting to shrink in size "This one hasn't got much energy. You need to leave now".

"P-Promise me you'll be quick" Yugi said, allowing Yami to back him further towards the portal.

"I'll try" Yami said, before giving Yugi a hard shove, forcing him to fall back into the portal.

With a small glimpse of his disappearing friend, Yugi gave a groan as his back hit into a pile of boxes, back on the floor of his basement. After rubbing his tender back, Yugi pushed himself up on his feet, and stood right at the mouth of the vortex. He held small hope that Yami would change his mind, and come through casually, saying that he was hungry after all. However, the portal began to disappear already, the bricks replacing themselves into the wall once more. Yugi watched as the wall became its regular self, dirty, and somewhat chipped away due to age. Placing his hand on the wall, it was cold, and stubborn to move once again. If Yami wanted to return, for any reason, it was too late.

A small clack upstairs caught Yugi's attention, and he looked up the basement stairs, hearing the faint sound of movement above him.

"I'm home" His father called out "Yugi?"

Yugi hurried up the basement stairs, turning to the front door, as his father tugged on his tie. He gave a perplexed look to his son, and then to the basement, before back to Yugi.

"What were you doing in the basement?" He queried.

Yugi did not answer the question; he only walked over to his father, and wrapped his arms around the adult, hugging him tightly out of fear. The father stared down at Yugi, trying to remember when he had been hugged by Yugi with such force before, and when he had thought Yugi had grown out of such hugs. Regardless, he put his arms around Yugi, patting his back reassuringly.

"Yugi? What's wrong? Did you see a rat?"

Yugi shook his head, before pushing his face into his father's chest, and let a few loose tears roll down. Despite the amount of questions his father forced on him, Yugi was determined not to tell his father what had happened, just wishing to have a comforting hug from his father. Even if he wanted to tell his father, he was unsure how his father would take the story—or if he would even believe it—so Yugi stayed silent.

Once Yugi had calmed down, he left his father alone, and stayed in his room the most of the day. He tried to assure himself that Yami would be fine, he had, after all, lived in that world for a long time. Yami was skilled, and knew his way around his own home, he would be fine. Yugi repeated similar lines to himself throughout the evening, hoping it would convince him not to worry, but it never worked. As soon as Yugi reassured himself, something terrible would spring to mind, worrying him if that happened to Yami. But he tried to reassure himself that the idea was silly, or unrealistic, then a new fear took its place. It was a vicious cycle of worry.

Yugi's mother returned home some hours later that, no doubt, was filled in on Yugi's strange behaviour. Still, they left Yugi alone in his room, while they continued their daily routine. After a few hours, Yugi was called down for dinner, which he complied. However, with his worries still plaguing him, Yugi did little more than play with his food. His parents noticed his mood, despite this, his mother gave a sigh to start talking.

"Yugi, we have some news" His mother spoke, making the teen tilt his head slightly "You don't have to worry, it turns out we don't have to move now. Are you happy about that?"

Yugi gave a small hum, before looking down at his food, and poking it once again "What's up with you?" His father asked "You were so upset about moving, and now you don't care? What's happened?"

Once again, Yugi did not answer, and forced himself to eat. His parents gave a sigh, deciding to let it go, and leave Yugi to deal with his own problems. After the awkward meal, Yugi was allowed to return to his room, continuing his wallow into his worry.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Yugi began to wait patiently for Yami to return, to the point of not sleeping for more than a couple of hours. Before, his friend would only take a few days, then returning for a few weeks to resume normal life. This time, however, Yami was taking too long in his own home. The fear that Yami had fallen into some danger, and was unable to reach Yugi, got the teen going down to the basement several times. Every day after school, Yugi made sure to sit himself in the basement before his father came back, hoping that the portal would come back. But, to his disappointment, it never came. It only filled him with more worry about Yami's safety, furthering him to keep checking the basement regularly, and leave small signs to indicate Yami's return.

On the third week, Yugi returned home from school, preparing for the worst. After taking off his shoes, Yugi ventured closer to the basement, looking to the shut door. He always kept it shut after leaving the basement, for if Yami was to return home, he would surely leave it open to signal his arrival. But much like the previous weeks, it was still shut. Yugi let the door creak open, before slowly taking each step down, peering into the cramp and cluttered space. With no indication that anyone had been down there before, Yugi gave another sigh, and turned to walk back up to the house.

He was stopped short however, as a familiar rumble spread through the house, shaking the steps he stood on. Thinking it was an earthquake, Yugi stood still where he was, before frowning in confusion as a groan like noise followed the shaking. Looking back to the basement, he noticed the empty spot on the wall bend and strain, stubbornly keeping itself in place, as the noise approached it fast. The wall soon began to crumble away, forcing the bricks to give way to the swirling vortex, and giving a passage to the other world.

Yugi waited for a few minutes, almost expecting Yami to jump out from the other end, but only the rumbling sound broke the tense atmosphere. When he realised that Yami was not travelling through, Yugi walked down the steps of the basement, standing in front of the mouth of the vortex. Tossing his bag aside, Yugi moved closer, and sucked in a deep breath as he jumped in.

With another groan, Yugi landed on his front, causing his chest to ache in pain. He forced himself up on his hands and knees, coughing lightly at his pain, before looking up at the forest below him. He was back on top of the hill, with the purple leaved trees surrounding it, and home to Yami. There was no sign of anyone else in the area, making Yugi more worried as he stood up, but he was determined to find his friend once more. However, with no idea where Yami would be hiding, Yugi chose a random direction to walk in. With the unusual silence hurting his ears, he was grateful for the small crunching noise under his feet, as it broke the silence and kept his cool in the forest.

Yugi felt like he had been walking around for hours, as his legs began to ache under the strain, and his hope for finding Yami was diminishing. The forest stayed mostly unchanged, losing Yugi deeper within its body, driving Yugi to wonder if he would ever get back out. Knowing it was useless to go on without a plan, Yugi decided to stop, sitting himself down by a tree. It gave his tired feet a rest, while he gathered his surroundings, and making a plan from then on.

Yugi's back tensed when he heard a snap, looking around the thick forest, almost expecting to see a monster approach him. However the forest looked the same, nothing stirred around him, which only put the teen on edge. He stood up from the tree, turning around on the spot, so that nothing could sneak up on him.

"Wh-Who's there?" Yugi called out "Yami? I-Is that you?"

There was no response to Yugi's voice, sending a shiver down Yugi's back, as he got his feet moving again. Once again, Yugi did not care where he was going exactly, just as long as it was away from his fear. He kept a steady, but fast pace, not daring to look over his shoulder. Whether it was a trick of his mind, or if there truly was something behind him, Yugi did not want to know.

An arm wrapped itself around Yugi's waist, stopping the teen from moving, before being forced to the ground. The heavy weight applied to his back kept him on the ground, no matter how much he tried to force himself up, it was futile. Yugi still persisted though, and with his head free to move, Yugi looked over his shoulder at the perpetrator.

It was a young blond boy, only a few years older than Yugi himself, but still strong enough to hold Yugi down. He had a vicious glare on his face, and as he lifted his arm up, Yugi noticed the roughly made knife he had. Yugi's eyes filled with fear, and in a state of panic, Yugi ducked his head and held his hair tightly.

"No! Please don't kill me!" Yugi begged, whimpering as tears sprang already "Please! I don't want to be eaten!"

As Yugi whimpered and gasped, the blond stopped in his tracks, tilting his head at the noises Yugi made. Lowering his weapon, the blond grabbed his shoulder, pulling him over so he could see Yugi's face. Tears ran down the youngsters face, as he cringed, and waited for his fate to happen. His pitiful expression made the blond grimace, before giving a hiss, and moving away from Yugi.

"Damnit" He grumbled.

Yugi bravely opened his eyes, looking up at the male, curious as to why he ceased his actions. The man stood above Yugi, looking away, as he muttered various curse words under his breath—some of which were in a different language. Yugi slowly and cautiously pushed himself up from the ground, keeping himself alerted for almost anything to happen, as he watched the murmuring man.

"Please…?" Yugi uttered quietly, almost sounding like a whisper.

The man heard him, however, and turned back to glare at him "You should consider yourself goddamn lucky" He spat back.

"Y…You're not going…to…eat me?" Yugi asked shakily.

"I should do" The man responded, twirling his knife around, so its blade faced the opposite direction "I'm starving as hell".

"I…I'm sorry…"

The blond was about to snap back at Yugi, but he quickly turned, looking into the forest distance. Yugi gave a curious glance as well, expecting to see another person lurking, though was greeted with a familiar sound.

A distant thud echoed through the forest, approaching at an alarmingly fast pace, and slightly shaking the trees around them. As the sound approached, Yugi began to fill with a dread, as he realised that it was not an earthquake. Panic filled Yugi as he wondered what he should do, knowing that he would not be able to control his fear without Yami, but also knew that trying to run away would not help. He turned to the blond, hoping that he would receive help, but watched as he ran towards of the nearer trees.

The male wielded his knife, and jumped up at the tree, digging in his knife at the highest point he could reach. Dangling at a point, the male swung himself towards the nearest branch, before making a leap at it. He climbed up, and reached for another branch, settling himself at the highest branch of the tree.

"D-Don't leave me!" Yugi pleaded, standing at the foot of the tree, as the sound began to shake the ground "P-Please! I-I don't want to die!"

The male looked down at Yugi, frowning as he noticed faint tears weld up in his eyes, hoping the male would find mercy once more. With an annoyed groan, the male tossed down his knife, missing Yugi as it stuck in the ground.

"Climb up!" He called down to Yugi, before jumping back down the branches.

Though Yugi wished to express his inadequate athletic skill, a shuddering thud made Yugi grab the knife, and attempt to jump as high as he could. Due to his short size, Yugi failed to reach the height the male did before, making him panic even more. As the trees shook more violently, and the sound of the approaching monster got louder in his ears, Yugi decided to try his best at least. He jumped up, and dug the knife into the tree, hanging helpless as he tried to find a better route up the tree.

"Here!" Yugi looked up to the male, seeing his hand outstretched, and almost reachable for Yugi "Take my hand!" Yugi attempted to reach for his hand, but he was just out of reach, no matter how much Yugi forced his arm to stretch "Swing you idiot!"

At the harsh order, Yugi did as he was told, and began to swing his body lightly. With the extra momentum, Yugi found himself nearing towards the male, and it became easier to reach to the blond. Once their hands touched, Yugi immediately grabbed his hand, stopping him from swinging. He was about to let go of the knife, and allow the male to pull him up, the man only frowned back.

"Don't you dare leave my knife behind!"

"S-Sorry!" Yugi tugged hard on the knife, managing to pull it out from the tree, and dangle from the males grip.

Once he saw his weapon was safe, he pulled Yugi up onto the branch, before helping him climb to the highest point in the tree. The sound became deafening as they reached the higher branches, though knowing that the monsters were large, Yugi became fearful that even hiding in a tree gave little protection.

Yugi felt a shiver crawl up his back at the sound of a snort, slowly turning around, Yugi watched as the snout appeared from behind the tree. As the monster came into view, Yugi felt his body grow stiff, and his throat collapse on him. The monster barely reached underneath the branch, and if it tilted its head up slightly, it would no doubt know they were there. Yugi turned to the blond, and when seeing him place a finger against his lips, Yugi knew to be quiet and nodded back.

The monster gave a rumble in its throat, before turning around, and began to walk underneath the hiding spot. Yugi felt his body shake with every thundering step, making him quietly whimper as he closed his eyes, and prayed that they were left alone. The monster stopped in its tracks, its heavy breathing snorting as it sniffed the air, and its hideous face turned to the higher branches.

Yugi felt like he was about to scream, but the blond pushed him against the trunk of the tree, and pressed his body over Yugi's. The two watched as the snout reached higher, being mere feet away from them, as it continued to sniff the air. The blond pressed himself further into Yugi's body, shielding them away from the monster as much as he could, hoping that they would be ignored.

The monster continued to smell along the branch, even moving close to them on a couple of occasions, but still blind to their location. After it searched along the branch, it gave a deep hum, before leaving it be and carrying on with its travelling. The two teens watched the monster walk away, disappearing within the forests belly, with its thudding footsteps following behind it. After waiting a few moments, the blond moved away from Yugi, giving a heavy sigh of relief.

"That was close" He muttered, before turning to Yugi, as he burst into more tears "Wh-What are you crying about now?!"

"I-I thought I was gonna die!" Yugi wailed, burying his face into his hands.

Yugi continued to cry endlessly, his tears running over his hands, as he began to hiccup and hyperventilate. The man sat back, watching Yugi cry freely, and unsure of what to do. After a few minutes of crying, it watered down to sniffles and gasps, and he had managed to pull his hands away to stare at the man. He could see that the man looked uncomfortable, probably due to Yugi's unnatural scaredness, so felt it was only reasonable to try and calm down.

"I-I'm sorry…" Yugi mumbled, rubbing his red eyes.

The man looked to Yugi, giving a simple shrug, and looking away again "You're…not from around here…are you?"

Yugi shook his head, rubbing his nose against his sleeve "I-I'm from a-a different world".

"A different world?" He repeated "As in…there's a whole different place from here?" Yugi gave a small nod, watching him frown in curiosity "Is it…like our world?"

"N-No…it's totally different" Yugi explained, hugging his knees "There are no monsters…or people trying to eat each other…w-we have a society, and homes, and families-"

"Families?" The blond gave a hum, lowering his head slightly "That…sounds good…"

Yugi tilted his head, trying to see the emotion the boy had, but was surprised to see no emotion at all "M-My name is Yugi…what's yours?"

The male lifted his head up again, and paused briefly before speaking "Joey…I'm Joey".

"Joey…right. Um…by any chance, have you seen my friend? H-His name is Yami, he's kinda blunt and sarcastic…and-"

"No" Joey replied quickly "I haven't".

"O-Oh…right…"

"You should go back to wherever you came from" Joey stood up on the branch, moving closer to the edge, so he was able to leap to the next one "Your friend is probably dead if you had to come and find him".

"How can you say that?!" Joey turned back to Yugi, seeing him stand up, and glare at Joey "I know people to you don't mean that much, but Yami is my only best friend! If I lost him…it's just a mean thing to say! So don't say that ever again! Because I know Yami would never die!"

Joey watched Yugi glare at him, before turning away, and giving a small chuckle "You really are from another world, aren't you?" He then jumped to another branch, proceeding to climb down the tree, and back to the ground.

Still angered by the frank comment Joey made, Yugi followed his tracks, and climbed down the tree as well. Though he stumbled a couple of times, Yugi made it down unharmed, and walked away to continue searching for Yami. For one reason or another, Joey began to follow Yugi, keeping silent as he trudged behind him. Yugi knew that Joey was somewhere behind him, and was at least content he was not alone in the forest, so allowed Joey to keep up with him for the time being.

However, time had passed, and Yugi could not find Yami. It depressed Yugi to think it, but if he could not find Yami then, he was sure he could not find Yami at all that day. He had to give up the search, he knew his parents would return home soon anyway, and they would no doubt wonder where he had got to.

Yugi stopped when he heard a small growl, and turned to Joey, seeing the teen grasp his stomach and double over. He could not imagine how it must have been to live in near starvation, and the thought only made him feel even more sympathy for Joey, even after he attempted to kill Yugi before.

"Hey" Joey lifted his head, gazing on Yugi's smile "If I come back any time, I'll try to bring some food with me, and you can have some, alright?"

"Food?" Joey queried "Like what?"

"Anything you want. Sweets, fruit, vegetables, meat, pastry. I'll bring anything that I can. Does…that sound good?"

"Yeah…yeah it does".

Yugi held his hand out, making Joey stare at the offering hand, before taking it in his own hand "Come on, I'll help you out whenever I can".

"Sure…" Joey let Yugi pull him along, forcing his hungered body to move, and carry on through the forest.

As Yugi tried to find his route back to the portal, he found that he was still lost, which only made him panic again. But with his hold on Joey's hand, he knew he could not let himself get irrational, so tried his best to think of something to calm him down.

"H-Hey, before…" Yugi spoke up, catching Joey's attention "Y-You didn't kill me…wh-what for?"

"Because you cried" Joey answered, tilting his head "Don't tell me you didn't know about the mercy rule".

Yugi only looked back briefly to repeat "Mercy rule?"

Joey gave a sigh, muttering something under his breath, as he shook his head "It's…a rule. If anyone cries, we have to give them mercy. That's how it goes".

"O-Oh…" Yugi thought back to his many tearful moments of his life, recalling Yami being distant with him, and apprehensive to do anything with Yugi's crying. It made slight sense to Yugi "A-And everyone follows this rule? Like a law?"

"No…only some people do" Joey answered "They used to".

"Oh…right…"

After walking around aimlessly through the woods, the two made it out onto the other side, and into the sunlight once more. Yugi gave a hopeful grin when he recognised the hill, and a small distortion from the portal on top of it, he had managed to find his way back. He let go of Joey's hand, and was about to run up the hill, only to stop when he remembered Joey was still behind him.

"I have to go now" Yugi explained, smiling lightly to Joey "That's my ride home. But…thank you for looking after me today…I don't know what would have happened to me…"

"Yeah. You're not the fittest to survive" Joey replied, before reaching underneath his shirt, and pulling out a necklace "Here. You can have this".

"Huh? For me?" Yugi queried, but bowed his head nonetheless, accepting the necklace. Once it was around his neck, Yugi ran his fingers down the string, until he came to the pendant.

The thread was made out of some light sticky covered material, much like thick spiders web, and came into a tight not at the top of the pendant. It was made out of small and broken sticks, forcibly wrapped around each other to make the shape of some symbol, but Yugi could not make out what kind of language it was supposed to be from. Yugi first thought it was Chinese, since it looked like a lot like its writing style, but he ended up settling that it was most likely a language he had never heard of before.

"What is it?" Yugi asked, running his hand over his symbol.

"It's my necklace" Joey responded, taking the pendant out of Yugi's hand, and placing it against his chest "It's for protection. You need it more than I do. So stay safe…alright?"

Yugi gave a nod, holding tightly to the necklace "I will, thank you. And I'll look after the necklace too".

The two stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to say, until Yugi gave a small bow "I really have to go now…I hope I see you again".

"Yeah…me too…" Joey said, watching as Yugi turned, and ran up the hill towards the portal.

Once reaching the top, Yugi looked back to see Joey, before jumping into the portal. He landed in his basement once again, but to his surprise, he found himself upright and pressed against the pile of boxes. Yugi carefully stepped back, before looking down at himself, and checking if there was any damage he had received.

"I guess I'm landing on my feet now…" Yugi murmured, quickly glancing back, to see the wall gather its broken parts again.

"Where are you Yugi?" His father called out, sounding rather alarmed that he could not find his son.

"Down here dad!" Yugi called up, and once collected his school bag, ran up to greet his father.

The day carried on much the same as the others; with no help looking for Yami, Yugi only became more dismal about his best friends' disappearance, which was noticeable to his parents, but still opted to keep silent about it. Yugi thought about going back the next day, but the only reason he was alive then was because of Joey, and he could not be certain that his new friend would be there too. There was nothing he could do anymore, not in his pitiful state at least.

Once in bed, Yugi was lightly sleeping again, pulling the covers closer to his face as he tried not to think about Yami. However, after finding himself in a comfortable position, he was disturbed by movement on his bed. Without any thought about what he was doing, Yugi turned over immediately, only to be met with Yami's gaze.

"Y-Yami?"

"I thought you was asleep" Yami said, raising his head up, so he could rest it in his hand "What're you doing still awake?"

"Wh-Where were you?" Yugi stuttered "I-I was so worried! Y-You had gone!"

"I got…caught up" Yami replied vaguely, looking away "I'm sorry".

Without much else said, tears ran down Yugi's face, before he placed his head against Yami's chest. The older male looked down at his friend, once again, unsure of how to comfort the crying teen.

"Don't do that ever again!" Yugi scolded, hiccupping and shaking "I was so damn worried about you! You could have died!"

Yami watched Yugi cry a little more, attempting to quieten his sobs in Yami's clothes, before he placed his hand on Yugi's back. Yugi felt his back twitch as Yami's hand rubbed up and down, but at the soothing action, Yugi found himself calming down and relaxing with ease.

"I know…and I'm sorry" Yami apologised again, before letting his head rest against Yugi's, and close his eyes "Let's sleep…okay?"

Yugi gave a nod, holding tightly to Yami's clothes, so he knew that his friend was with him no matter what "Okay…"

*******************************End of chapter 4******************************

I don't know how I should feel about this.

Should I be happy that Yugi's making friends? Or depressed I'm putting them in bad situations?

Review and stay tuned for the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

We have the last mentionable character you'll see in this story.

Can you guess who it is?

* * *

Chapter 5-Hiding secrets

The time spent in the other world remained silent between Yugi and Yami, letting it fall into the depths of their memory, as they continued with life once more. Yami seemed happy that Yugi was remaining in his home, no doubt reassured that his source of food was secure, more than the fact that Yugi would be in his life for good. Though Yugi did not mind, he was simply happy that his friend was with him, still alive and in once piece.

A few weeks had passed, and Yami had to return to his home again, much to Yugi's dismay. But no matter how much he wanted to argue, he understood that it was for Yami's health, so let him go back with the promise to return. Yami made certain he would return within a few days, unlike his previous leave, so Yugi would not need to worry about his wellbeing or finding him. Yugi had no reason to follow Yami into the other world, wanting nothing more to do with the place, but a sickening reminder told him he had to.

He had promised Joey food when he returned, and he was not sure if Yami would allow him to do such daring deeds, but he did not want to disappoint his new friend.

After returning from school one day, Yugi dumped the contents of his bag in his room, and went into the kitchen to make another bento. As Yugi collected various foods, he could feel a small tremble through his house, and he knew that a portal had entered the basement. He quickly finished with the food, putting it into his bag, and rushed down to the basement to greet it. He waited a few moments at the mouth of the vortex, making sure that Yami was not planning on returning at that moment, before throwing himself deep within the portal.

In an instant he landed on his feet, though quickly lost his balance, as he wobbled and ended up on hands and knees. With a small groan at his failure, he pushed himself onto his feet once more, and looked around the familiar hillside he was growing used to. Making sure there was no danger present, Yugi began trekking down the hill, keeping his eyes open to the forest surrounding him. As he reached the bottom, the thought of Joey being a traveller gave him problems, wondering how he was supposed to track Joey down in a wide world. He did not want to stray too far from the portal like last time—in case the same thing happened again—but he could not turn his back on Joey either, he had promised him food for him.

Yugi gave a small glance back to the portal, seeing it still present, so knew it would not disappear for a while. With a sigh, Yugi circled around the edge of the forest at first, hoping he could spot some sign that would tell him what direction Joey went in. To his dismay, however, the forest seemed to be the usual untouched sea of purple. Another sigh left Yugi, as he tried to decide of a trick to not get lost, and hoped that they applied to this world.

Yugi yelped when he heard a thud, and turned quickly to one of the trees, relaxing his tense body when he realised it was Joey. The blond casually brushed his clothes, before turning to Yugi, raising his brow when he saw the frown on the teens face.

"What's up with you?" Joey asked.

"You startled me!" Yugi hissed, placing a hand on his chest "You could have said hello or something…"

"Hm…sorry".

Yugi shook his head, quickly changing his expression to a smile, happy to see his new friend again "I didn't think you'd be here to be honest. I thought you would have…moved on, or something".

"Well…when you said you'd come back…" Joey shrugged his shoulders lightly, rubbing the back of his head "I figured I might as well try to stick around. Wouldn't want you to get hurt or something, just trying to find me".

Yugi gave a small chuckle "Thanks".

"What for?"

"For thinking about me. Oh!" Yugi knelt down to the ground, slipping his bag off, and dipped his hands inside. Once grabbing the bento, he took it out, and held it to Joey "I brought you food, like I promised".

"Hmm" Joey knelt down also, taking the box out of Yugi's hands, and observing it. As Yugi passed him a pair of chopsticks, he took off the lid, and examined the many foods within "What is all this stuff?"

"Food" Yugi answered, tilting his head slightly "Try some".

Joey gave an unsure hum, but began to eat anyway, taking small pieces at first to try the taste. Yugi watched Joey eat, as he pulled curious faces to the tastes, waiting for the verdict of his boxed meal. After a while of munching, Joey finally swallowed, freeing his mouth to speak again.

"It's not bad" Joey commented, gathering up another mouthful of food.

"Good. I made it myself you know" Yugi said proudly.

Joey gave a small nod, swallowing again "From what?"

"Uh…um…w-well…I meant that I put it together…it's actually bought from the shops. So…I-I didn't make it per se".

"Oh" Joey carried on eating, unaware of what Yugi tried to explain, too satisfied with having food in his stomach.

Yugi gave a small smile, sitting back on his legs casually, as he watched Joey feed himself. Little disturbed Joey from his hungry gorging, and Yugi did and said as little as he could, allowing Joey the joy of having food other than flesh. The meal was small, however, and Joey had devoured the bento in a matter of minutes. He gave a small pant when he realised he had eaten too fast, brushed the back of his hand against his mouth, before passing the box back to Yugi.

"Thanks" Joey said.

"No problem" Yugi took the box off him, placing it back into his bag again, and turning to Joey "I'll bring some more next time, maybe something a bit bigger, okay?"

"Next time?" Joey repeated "How often do you plan on coming back?"

"As long as it takes to keep you fed" Yugi said, smiling as he did "I wouldn't want one of my friends to starve".

"Friends…?" Joey echoed, perplexed by the strong term between them.

Before Yugi could say anything more to the statement, a tremendous roar split through their ears, making Yugi squeak and cower in terror. Joey looked around also, surprised by the noise, as he expected something or someone to jump out at them. The ground began to shake and tremble, moving in perfect harmony with the roar, and small cracks began to appear in the ground. The trees quaked and snapped in disapproval, shaking the purple mass of leaves, as if it were in a struggle against and invisible force. The quake lasted a few minutes, before finally quieting, letting loose leaves flutter to their graves.

Yugi and Joey looked around, caution going through them, as they listened to the silence of the forests. When they realised the quake had passed, they breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed their tense bodies.

"That…was so sudden" Yugi murmured.

"Yeah…it was worse than last time" Joey added, looking behind him "The trees were really shaking…I thought we'd be crushed…or swallowed up".

"Trees are pretty resilient against earthquakes, even the big ones" Yugi tried to reassure "It's best to just let it pass, I should know, I deal with them a lot of the time".

"Right…" Joey rubbed the back of his head, before standing up, making Yugi stand up as well.

"Well…I best go now. My parents should be coming home soon" Yugi picked up his bag, hooking it over his shoulders "But I'll come back, I don't know when though…"

"That's…fine" Joey rubbed the back of his head, letting an awkward silence pass through them, thinking about what to say next "Come back soon…alright?"

"Yeah…yeah I will" Yugi gave a small wave to Joey, turning back to the portal "Bye…"

"See you…soon" Joey said, giving a small, pathetic wave back as he watched Yugi climb the hill.

Yugi reached the top of the hill, looking back over his shoulder at Joey, gazing down at the clearly broken-hearted blond. Yugi knew that he could not stay any longer, but it tore him to pieces to see such a miserable sight on a friend, so gave a small apologetic smile to his friend. When seeing no reaction from Joey, Yugi turned to the portal, and leapt through.

Yugi ended up back in his basement again, somehow landing on one foot, and wobbled slightly until his second foot found ground. With his balance returning, Yugi watched the remaining life of the portal, waiting to see if Yami would follow behind him. To his dismay, Yami did not come through, and the portal closed up once again. With a saddened sigh, Yugi climbed up the stairs, returning to his house. With his parents not home yet, and discouraging thoughts about Yami plaguing him, he decided to do some of his homework until someone returned home.

After his parents had returned home, Yugi came down to greet them and spend time with them, hoping that they would provide a good enough distraction from his thoughts. He helped his mother with the meal, and made small chat with them, finally pulling his mind away from the gloomy thoughts of Yami and the other world. Once Yugi had finished his meal, tidied up and completed the homework he had started, he decided to settle down for bed.

He gave a small yawn as he dressed himself, only looking to the door as he heard his parents move around, no doubt sorting themselves out to sleep too. Slipping the last button through, Yugi reached under his collar, and slipped off Joey's necklace from around his throat. He had made sure to wear it always, but concealed it under his clothes, worried about what Yami would say if he recognised the trinket. Yami seemed to have been oblivious to the necklace, not noticing it when he did wear it, and not finding it when Yugi hid it either. Carefully wrapping the string around the pendant, Yugi opened the drawer to his desk, and carefully slid it under one of his books. He shut the drawer again, turned out his light, and happily laid down on his bed.

Worming his way under the covers, Yugi scooted to the edge of the bed, and closed his eyes. After his parents went to bed, the house fell silent, giving the occupants peace of mind. The gentle murmurs of night creatures whispered by the windows, and the house creaked and clicked with age, the usual nightly orchestra that calmed them to sleep. Yugi felt his body slowly grow numb to tiredness, allowing sleep to overpower his body, until the morning would rise.

However, Yugi felt his eyes open again, as the bed shifted slightly. Yugi did not turn over this time; he only smiled, as he waited for his friend to feel comfortable in the bed as well, hearing him give a breathless sigh.

"Welcome back" Yugi whispered, feeling Yami move, no doubt looking over his shoulder.

Yami gave another sigh, shaking his head "You should be asleep. It's a school night" Yami reprimanded lightly, no tone of authority in his voice.

Yugi managed a small chuckle, rubbing his face into the pillow, as he closed his eyes once more "Thank you".

"What for?"

"For coming back on time".

Yami gave a small hum but reached back, letting his hand hold Yugi's head, and press his face further into the pillow. The childish action made Yugi chuckle more, as he tried to resist Yami's force.

"Go to sleep" Yami mumbled, finally letting him go, and settling down himself.

"Okay Yami" Yugi shifted himself a little, letting his back touch Yami's, before finally submitting to sleep. With his friend back in safety Yugi could feel peace once again, chasing away the negative thoughts, until their next departure.

For the rest of the month, Yami stayed at Yugi's house, keeping the teen happy with his presence. Though with his constant presence, Yugi found it hard to return to Joey again, lest he cause suspicion within his friend. Though the thought of a starving Joey tortured him, but he knew Yami would never let him go back on his own, and had to hope that Joey could keep himself safe. And with Yami always in his room, Yugi found it hard to hide his necklace on most occasions, having to resort in ditching it in the basement from time to time. He was not sure why his paranoia fuelled to hide everything to do with Joey; it had always been him and Yami, with no one else interfering on their friendship, so to add another was something the two had never considered. Yami was already defensive and apprehensive to begin with, and hated anything to do with his home, so to mention Joey would leave a bad taste on their friendship.

Still, it did little to soothe Yugi's guilt for his other friend, praying that he could survive long enough for Yugi to see him again.

As Yugi walked home from school one day, guilt began to consume him again, as he wondered about Joey's safety. With his head hung low, Yugi found his body taking control, while he let his mind wander off into his thoughts. Yugi weaved around people when they walked opposite him, brushing past them on a couple of occasions, but no one noticed or cared to notice. And when he came to the crossings in the road, his feet simply stopped moving, waiting for the sound of traffic to disappear before moving on. He was deep in his own thoughts, filled with worry for Joey to even think about anyone else, and only furthering his dismay. It was always his nature to help someone out, whenever he could, but recently he found his loyalty clashing with his personality. It caused much upset for the teen.

Yugi was broken out of his thoughts by a heavy weight—and a sharp jab to his chest—before he could understand what was going on, he found himself stumbling back and looking around. A young boy sat on the pavement, books scattered around him, as he rubbed his back from his fall. It seemed that he and Yugi had both been lost in thought, crashing into each other, and sending the other boy to the ground. Embarrassment swept over him, making Yugi drop to his knees, and began picking up the fallen books.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Yugi apologised, reaching out when a few notes slipped out, and pushed them back between the pages of the books.

"It's fine, honestly" The boy reassured, also sitting up, and gathering the books nearest to him "I guess we both weren't looking where we were going".

Yugi only gave a nod, standing up with the boy, and held the pile of books "I'm really sorry".

The boy only laughed, taking the books off him, and hanging them under his arm "It's fine, no harm done. Hm?" The boy stared at Yugi, tilting his head curiously, as he gazed down at Yugi.

The extending stare made Yugi nervous, attempting to pull a polite smile, which wavered alone with his uncertainty. The boy seemed fixed on Yugi's chest, creating an uneasy silence between them, as Yugi observed the boy back. Before Yugi could question his intentions, the boy reached forwards, and took hold of something. Not feeling the tug of his school clothes, Yugi's eyes fell down as well, seeing the necklace hanging out of his shirt. The collision had forced the twig necklace to escape from hiding, and now rested over his chest, open for all to see.

The boy turned it in his hand for a few moments, admiring the sturdy structure of the pendant "Interesting…where did you get this from?"

"Uh…um…a friend made it for me" Yugi quickly answered, trying to tug the necklace out of the boy's hand, but his grip remained tight around the pendant.

"Oh…oh!" The boy let the necklace drop back to Yugi's chest, quickly brushing some of his white fringe back, before pulling out one of his books. Resting it between his thumb and fingers, the boy flicked page after page, before his eyes lit up with excitement "Yes! I knew I saw it somewhere; it's a universal symbol of peace and safety. Crudely made, and a little wonky too, but no doubt about it" The boy held the book next to Yugi, comparing the necklace to something in the book, before his eyes turned up to Yugi "Where did you really get this from?"

"I-I said a-a friend made it for me" Yugi stammered out, nerves bustling about under his skin, as his feet itched to move away from the strange person.

"Uhuh…" The boy closed the book, then leaning closer to Yugi, making the teen twitch away from him "You mean to say, you've been to another world?"

Yugi's face paled to an ice white colour, his mouth dropped open with disbelief, trembling to form words of deceits. Unable to convince the boy otherwise, Yugi took a few steps back, and gave a quick bow to him.

"I'm really sorry about before! Bye now!" And with that, took off into a run.

"H-Hey! Wait a moment!"

Yugi did not stop or falter, running deeper into the streets crowds, Yugi lost the boy within the sea of people. Knowing he would not be followed so easily, Yugi made the mad dash back home, returning to the safety he knew. He struggled to open the front door when he did reach home, but once the door was open, he bolted in and locked the door behind him. With the door firmly shut behind him, Yugi let his chest pant and wheeze to recuperate air, and allow his feet to melt at the ankles. Yugi laid a breathless mess, panic swimming through his veins, and sweat forming over his skin.

After recovering from his marathon, Yugi pushed himself back up on his feet, feeling his body shake and tremble from the mix of fear and energy. He climbed up the stairs, and to his room, only giving Yami a brief glance as he entered. Yami raised his brow at Yugi, watching him stumble over to the wardrobe, and drop his bag to the floor. The drained state of a person Yugi was confused Yami, though with the noises he had heard previously, he could make a faint picture of what happened.

"So, that was you who I heard crashing through the door" Yami stated, rather than asked.

Yugi only gave a flimsy nod, slipping his jacket off his shoulders, and feeling his body soothe from the sticky heat of the sweat. As Yugi took off his school shirt, Yami seemed to stare at Yugi more, his brow furrowing into a frown quickly. He rose up, and walked over to Yugi, before reaching out and grabbing the necklace. The sudden action caught Yugi off guard, jerking him towards Yami, and coughing when the tug had choked him a little. Yugi was about to snap at his friend for the rough action, but when seeing Yami's glaring face, he found himself cowering.

"Where did you get this?" Yami demanded.

"I-I found it!" Yugi stuttered, cringing to hide his lies "I-I came to look for you before, a-and I found it on the ground, s-so I took it. I-I'm sorry".

Yami gave a small hum, staring deep into Yugi's eyes, waiting to see if he would make a confession. When Yugi made no difference, Yami let go of the necklace, turning to walk back to the bed. He sat himself down, crossing his legs and arms, shaking his head.

"Shouldn't take things that aren't yours" Yami muttered in a scolding manner.

Yugi only gave a small nod, reaching into his wardrobe to take his clothes out, and covering the necklace once more. With the questions and accusations hitting him directly, Yugi lost all thought about Joey or anything else, focusing the rest of his day on calming his shaken nerves.

*******************************End of chapter 5******************************

Poor Yugi, all this stress don't help at all.

Including me. No help at all.

Review and stay tuned for the next chapter!


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